Entrust, a global entity known for its identity-focused security measures, has unveiled its seventh annual Identity Fraud Report for 2026.
This report highlights key global trends, tactics, and methodologies employed in identity fraud over the previous year, offering practical insights for businesses to safeguard their clientele and operations.
Biometric fraud attempts
The report indicates that deepfakes now comprise 20% of biometric fraud attempts, with occurrences of deepfaked selfies rising by 58% in 2025. Other common fraud methods across biometric systems include imagery such as photos of screens, printouts, and masks, as well as videos showing a photo or video on screen.
These developments reflect a larger trend of increasingly sophisticated attacks, propelled by injection attacks, which have surged by 40% year-on-year. Fraudsters use these attacks to bypass live capture processes by inserting manipulated images or videos directly into verification systems.
When paired with deepfakes, these advanced techniques can convincingly replicate user and real-time capture experiences, complicating detection unless robust, multi-layered fraud prevention strategies are implemented.
Fraud throughout the customer lifecycle
The report further examines at what points fraud occurs within the customer lifecycle
The report further examines at what points fraud occurs within the customer lifecycle and how it differs across industries and business models. Industries that offer sign-up incentives, such as cryptocurrency sectors, experience the highest rates of onboarding fraud, constituting 67% of fraud attempts.
Conversely, sectors with valuable, longstanding accounts, like payments and digital-first banks, are more prone to account takeover (ATO) fraud, which consists of 82% and 55% of authentication-targeted fraud attempts, respectively.
ATO fraud involves the usurpation of existing user accounts through stolen credentials, phishing, malware, or social engineering, to either misappropriate funds or access sensitive data.
Psychological manipulation in fraud schemes
Apart from technical threats, fraudsters are increasingly relying on psychological manipulation. By employing tactics such as phishing, impersonation, and coercion, they convince victims to use their genuine identities, divulge sensitive information, or transfer funds.
The 2026 Identity Fraud Report also details that digital forgeries made up 35% of document fraud in 2025, a significant increase from the 29% average recorded between 2022 and 2024. Although physical counterfeit volumes remain higher at 47%, digital forgeries are often more sophisticated, aided by AI tools readily available online.
Exploited documents and fraud patterns
Almost half (46%) of all fraudulent document submissions globally involved national ID cards
Almost half (46%) of all fraudulent document submissions globally involved national ID cards. While in EMEA and APAC fraudulent national IDs are most common (45% and 60% respectively), the AMER region sees more fraudulent driver's licenses at 37%.
Fraud activity is particularly prevalent between 2:00 am and 4:00 am UTC, reflecting how modern fraud operations are both highly organised and global.
Additionally, fraudsters often employ a "rinse and repeat" strategy, recycling fake details across multiple identity documents with commonly used elements including names like Jon Doe.
Combatting evolving threats
Simon Horswell, Senior Fraud Specialist Manager at Entrust, remarked, "As detection improves, fraud rings evolve, becoming faster, more organised, and commercially driven. Generative AI and shared tactics fuel volumes and sophistication, targeting people, credentials, and systems. Identity is now the front line, and protecting it with trusted, verified identity across the customer lifecycle is essential to staying ahead of adaptive threats."
Tony Ball, President of Payments & Identity and Incoming CEO at Entrust, added, "With over 1 billion identity verifications conducted across 195 countries and more than 30 industries, Entrust offers unparalleled insights into how fraud operates and how to help mitigate it."
"Our global reach and deep fraud intelligence mean we’re uniquely placed to drive continuous innovation and share meaningful insights for customers. The future of digital trust lies in layered, identity-centric strategies powered by AI, delivering fraud prevention and seamless user experiences."
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